


Make It With You

by storm_dog_pirate



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Future, Marriage Proposal, Post-War, i tried to write something like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22279564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storm_dog_pirate/pseuds/storm_dog_pirate
Summary: A sudden visit from the King of Ravka will be the first step towards a new start.
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	Make It With You

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the same timeline of Aftermath.

If one would take a look on their situation now, it was definitely safe to say that Zoya had been avoiding him. Two days had passed, but it already felt like an eternity. The time had become a blur of fixing schedules and meetings while Nikolai was tended for his injuries, and Zoya hadn’t seen him ever since.

It was ironic that the raven-haired storm was again backing away from the inevitable position that almost everyone knew about, even after they shared an intimate moment in the aftermath of the war—with her letting the three words she had been hiding for so long flow freely from her mouth when she almost lost him.

The thought of losing him completely still brought pain in her chest, its claws ripping against her heart. And while she knew that the king was very much alive and breathing somewhere in the infirmary, the hurting never left.

_Tomorrow,_ she decided. _I’d see him tomorrow._

But then she realized that she didn’t know how to face him.

Zoya let out an annoyed huff as she walked from the Little Palace back to her chambers, wanting nothing more than to have a decent sleep after a long day. Darkness had already settled itself in the skies, and she knew she wouldn’t wake up until the early morning sun came up fully. She opened the door to her room and stopped abruptly.

Because there, by her desk at the other end of the room, was none other than the king himself, and Zoya’s mind blanked because of the suddenness of his appearance.

Nikolai looked up from the papers he was reading, and he offered her a tired smile. “You sure do know how keep a king waiting, General Nazyalensky,” he said in amusement.

Zoya tried to ignore the way her name rolled of his lips and focused on the bandages that were still peeking out of the collar of his white undershirt instead. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be resting at the infirmary,” she replied, narrowing her eyes. “You still look like you’re going to pass out.”

The king laughed lightly, and then he winced and brought a hand up to chest. “Ever the observant one, aren’t you?” He sighed, walking over to her. “I have something important to tell you.”

“Can’t it wait until you’re fully recovered?” Zoya swallowed the lump in her throat. She let herself not assume anything far, but one look from him, from those honest and determined eyes she had known for so long, she knew enough to let herself believe.

“It can, but I couldn’t. I think all those years are already enough.” He gave her a small smile, and his hand reached down to his pocket and pulled out something. “Had this with me for a while, and I promised myself I would tell you when I have the chance.” He paused. “I _almost_ hadn’t, and I want to make that chance now.”

Zoya was rooted on her place as she finally saw what was on Nikolai’s hand. She looked up to him with bewilderment, opening her mouth to say something but couldn’t find the right words to say.

“I’ll be honest. I’m still nervous. The last time I did this, I got turned down.” Nikolai chuckled nervously as he walked nearer to her, stopping only at least a feet away. “Well, now I get to do it right.”

The sapphire on the ring gleamed against the dim lighting of her room, and she could swear that it her eyes shone the same. She blinked repeatedly, still not finding any words to come out from her mouth.

Nikolai huffed in amusement and stepped back a little. “Turns out I’m still not doing it right.” With that, he slowly got down on one knee. He looked up to her with a small smile, his hand holding the ring up to her.

“Lanstov,” Zoya said, finally having the voice to speak, but she didn’t like the way it came out nervously. “What is this?”

“If me getting down on one knee and holding out a ring to you still doesn’t make it obvious, then should I give you a speech that I’ve formed perfectly in my mind just now?”

“You better not—”

“Sure, here it goes.” He cut her off, and if things couldn’t get any worse, Nikolai reached for her hand and held on it, like she would disappear if he let go. “I don’t know when it started, or maybe I did. It’s all a blur of memories, all the good and bad, the highs and lows. But you were there on everything that I remember, keeping me marching and going, facing all the problems head on without hesitation. I’ve always loved you for that.” He rubbed gentle circles on her knuckles, and Zoya felt emotions clog her throat he looked up from their joined hands. Her vision blurred with tears she hadn’t expected to come. “When you saved me from the fall back then, I never thought we’d get far from there. That was the start of everything.” He paused, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Well, also the start of you saving me countless times through the years.”

Zoya laughed at that, her voice shaky. “I did bring you back to life,” she managed to reply.

Nikolai laughed back. “A good point, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “I’ve talked to Ehri this morning, and we’ve come to an agreement of breaking the engagement because I promised myself that I’d give Ravka the queen it deserved. Not just for the sake of saving the country itself, but also to give it someone who was willing to save it over and over again. Never fear of what the people would say, because I know that they will love you just as much as I do.” His voice broke at the last words, and he recovered with a light laugh. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, and Zoya felt her breath catch when she remembered him doing the same deed one night in the Fold. “I’ve always known that it’s you, Zoya. You were the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, as I can’t imagine myself ruling without you by my side, keeping me steady on my feet. I’d never ask you to leave your position as a General. I’d never ask for anything less and anything more. Your heart would be always enough, more than enough, as you already have mine for so long.

“And I know that this might overwhelm you, for I am giving you a much heavier responsibility of the country. But I want you to know I’d be here to share those responsibilities with you, just as you did for the past years.” He took in a shaky breath, before looking up at her with glassy and hopeful eyes. Then he gave her a smile, the one that he only seemed to have around her, when they were alone during the times she had considered thinking about him was her mind going traitor. “So here I am asking you, General Nazyalensky—” he let out a laugh when his voice broke again at that— “—would you do me the honor of annoying you for the rest of our lives?”

For once, Zoya Nazyalensky was left _utterly_ speechless. Never in her life had she heard such heartfelt words from someone—she was used of hearing hollow ones from every lover she’d had for years, words that always quipped about her extraordinary beauty but never for _who_ she was.

But hearing it from someone who had been there with her through every success and failure, through the best and the worst times, through pain and happiness, the sincerity of all of it had her moved.

And from that moment, Zoya knew that there wouldn’t be anyone else that could have this effect on her other than _him._

“You have that speech formed on the spot?” she asked, her voice catching from the overwhelming feeling in her chest. “I refuse to believe that you had that just now.”

Nikolai chuckled, the sound warm and welcoming. “I may have rehearsed some of it on the way here.”

Zoya gave a scoff of disbelief. “You _are_ impossible,” she said, shaking her head. She knew she had to say something. “You are the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, but I think that’s what makes you different from all of them. There’s no one else I would rather be with than someone who saw the better in anything and anyone.” She brought her other hand to his face, the act that she had always dared herself to do but never could. She felt a tear fall from her eye. “I’m never good at any of this, but if it’s with you, I’d do it all over again.”

She felt him release a breath and his hand that was gripping hers tightened more. “Is that a yes?”

“If me telling you that you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met still doesn’t make it obvious, then should I give you another minute to figure out what I just said?” she replied back in the same manner he’d used earlier.

Nikolai laughed, and he was beaming. Zoya could swear that his eyes had never looked so bright before. They radiate with so much warmth _and_ love and she knew she would never get tired looking at them. “For a moment, I thought you were going to send me away,” he said as he got to his feet. He slipped the ring on her finger carefully, and she was surprised when it fit perfectly. The man just seemed to know everything.

He continued to stare at it for a little longer before he let out a sound that was in between a sob and laugh, making Zoya do the same as she stared at the face of the man who was her equal in every single way she knew. Nikolai closed his eyes and rested his forehead to hers, bringing up their joined hands between them and pressing a lingering kiss to the back of her hand.

“I can’t believe that I’ve just made you agree to marry me,” he said in amusement, though Zoya could still hear the traces of the lingering emotion in his tone.

Zoya chuckled and closed her eyes as well. “Who wouldn’t say yes to the King of Ravka?” she said back, savoring the moment that would be the start of a new chapter of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted this from my Tumblr, and the others will follow soon. Thank you for reading! :">


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